Video Blog

More Morning Time Help…

What is Morning Time?? See videos below…

Sarah Mackenzie says this about morning time, “Morning Time places first things first- a liturgy of love. When you are trying to teach from a state of rest, a Morning Time routine helps put the emphasis on loving, going deep, and relishing rather than on getting through. It’s also a way to simplify.” Morning Time is simply a moment set aside in our school day to order our affections, fill our souls, and enjoy the delightful ‘extras’ that often get shoved to the back of our school day.

Morning time is simply a daily practice in a homeschool family whereby all the children come together with the parent to focus on the subjects that the family can do together in the pursuit of truth, beauty, and goodness. Too often our school day is dominated by the ‘skill subjects’ of language and math which can leave little time for the liberal arts of poetry, literature, art appreciation, handicrafts, dialectic discussion, and Scripture study. This can leave both the parent and child with a lack of enthusiasm for the beauty and natural curiosity of learning and discovery. Morning time allows a family to nourish their souls together and build relationship in a conversational setting by prioritizing noble ideas. This eBook contains the plans for all 24 weeks of Cycle 1 Classical Conversations. But even if you dont use Classical Conversations Curriculum, 98% of this eBook will still apply to you!

Morning Time Tips

Often we have idealistic thoughts of how our Morning Time will go only to be sorely disappointed when bad attitudes and interruptions crash the party. I have been there! This is the first video in a series to offer some thoughts and tips on overcoming common obstacles to your morning time.

A Peek into Our Morning Time…

Morning Time is simply a moment set aside in our school day to order our affections, fill our souls, and enjoy the delightful ‘extras’ that often get shoved to the back of our school day. After 14 years of homeschooling, five of which in Classical Conversations, I have created these Morning Time plans to go along with Cycle 3. In this video I share what is in our Morning Basket this fall and offer some tips for setting up one for your family!

Setting Child Training Goals

By Andie on March 14, 2012

In our home, discussions on child training seem to be a daily occurrence. Scott and I have spent literally hundreds of hours trying to figure out how to best ‘train a child in the way he should go’. We have read countless books and watched many videos, and we are still in the process of learning. My husband has said many times that the best child training is a great marriage and I am beginning to believe him. This free download is a seven page guide to help you and your spouse get on the same page in child training. On the first page you will find a chart that we made for ourselves years ago with the goals we have set for our children based on their ages. The weeds image on this page was a word picture to ourselves to remind us that if we do not deal with seeds of rebellion in our children’s hearts early on, they will become deeply rooted undesirable weeds later on. The second page is a four step training process we learned from a friend and how we see it working in our family. The third page is a goal setting sheet we use with our children to help determine specific behaviors for which each child needs discipleship. The remaining pages are for you and your spouse to work on together to set your own training goals and determine what steps you will take to get there in your family. Of course, each couple’s goals will vary from family to family so please, just use the first few sheets as an idea guide. We pray this resource is helpful to you and your spouse in your very important ministry of training up your children!

Connecting with your child’s heart is something every mom desires to do. However, with the fast paced life we all seem to live it makes it hard to meet each of our children’s needs and disciple them the way we know we should. Here is a simple tip to help strengthen your relationship with your children. Buy a journal for each child who can write. Print out the ‘Mommy and Me Journal Topic Ideas’ page under our free printables section. Each time you write a letter to your child in their journal include these four things: a written out scripture, a personal experience from your life, an exhortation to obey the scripture and a question they can answer you in return. Watch this video to see how we do this in our home!

In our home it seems our greatest battle is learning to love each other and not hurt one another with our words. Dealing with sibling rivalry can be the hardest part about being a mom. We are constantly trying to find ways to encourage our children to be more kind and considerate with each other. For this reason, I am starting a series on sibling rivalry and peacemaking in the home. I hope these videos will encourage you to have patient and faithful instruction on your tongue when you deal with sibling rivalry in your home! (Sorry the camera is a little unstable – my 10 year old son was recording!)

There is one thing I find very difficult about being a mama – balancing the many corrections I give each day with positive and encouraging affirmations towards my children. For about 5 years now we have been using a ‘Blessing Jar’ in our home to help remind me to bless my children throughout the day. Consider making a Blessing Jar a part of your family life as well – your children will thank you for it!

Our family has been given a great opportunity to serve the body of Christ overseas. Watch this video to hear all about it!

Here are a few tradition ideas that have been a blessing to our family over the years… hope they bless you as well!

Advent has always been a very special time for our family. I just love the coming of winter and all the coziness it brings. Slowing down to prepare our hearts to worship our coming King in this season is of vital importance. We pray our Advent Bible Study helps you do just that with your children.